This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Measuring the impact, much of it serendipitous, that Lance Allred has had on college basketball in Utah likely requires rolling out an industrial-sized drum of tape.

On the far side, its entirety swamps the near-side effect he's had and the numbers he's posted over the past two years at Weber State, even though the 24-year-old senior briefly led the nation in rebounding this season, before his averages settled in at 17.0 points and 11.6 rebounds with five games to play.

He, perhaps more than any other player, has shaped the countenance of the game here.

His path through anomalistic and arduous origins outside of basketball - including physical ailments, hearing impairment, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and coming from an erstwhile polygamous family - and then, inside the game, from East High School to the University of Utah to Weber State, and his willingness to openly talk about it, not only jarred his world; ultimately, it jump-started change at Utah that culminated in the departure of Rick Majerus, which led to the hiring of Ray Giacoletti, which helped regain and retain significant players, who otherwise had or would have bolted, who now have combined to key a 20-3 record for the Utes.

"Amazing," Allred says, taking in the whole of it while glancing

into the vast spaces of the Dee Events Center.

He pauses, and again, whispers, "Amazing."

It was just more than a year ago when, in a quiet corner of that same building, during an interview with the Tribune, the 6-foot-11 center first spoke publicly of enduring a relationship with Majerus that Allred described as verbally abusive.

The player, who is 75 percent deaf without the aid of hearing devices, described encounters in front of the team with the former Utah coach that included, he said, ridicule regarding his hearing deficiency and profanity regarding both his hearing and playing inadequacies.

Allred's revelations seared through the Utah basketball community, and the university, as a whole. Not because they were shocking to those in the know. Insiders already were aware of some of the details regarding Majerus' treatment of Allred and other players. But on the outside, he was one of the first players to speak publicly and thoroughly about the former Ute coach's aggressive and sometimes improper M.O.

The quotes from Allred included:

"Once, [Majerus] said to me in practice, 'You're just a deaf dumb f---. You must have a learning disability.'"

"Another time . . . he told me: 'Lance, you've weaseled yourself through life using your hearing as an excuse. You're a disgrace to cripples. If I was a cripple in a wheelchair and saw [the way] you play basketball, I'd shoot myself.' He said that in front of the whole team. At that point, I said, 'I don't want to play for him.' ''

Majerus denied making those statements, although two former players independently confirmed that they, in fact, heard the coach say them.

Two weeks after the story was published, Majerus resigned, citing a plethora of reasons.

Long before then, Allred had transferred from Utah to Weber State, where he attempted to put his life and his basketball career back on track. Since sprouting in height during his early teen years, Allred had used basketball as a means of "feeling normal."

But he never really was normal, however that's defined.

Allred is a unique personality. Even at Weber, where his obsessive-compulsive behavior fully emerged, his teammates have had to, as one Wildcat source put it, "adjust" to his way of being. He is somewhat eccentric, an off-the-beaten-path intellectual - last year, he was an academic All-American - who immerses himself in interests such as criminal justice and medieval history. He's already written one historical-fictional book centered on true characters of old England, although he has come to dissatisfaction with that initial writing effort.

"I've accepted that I probably have to trash my first book," he says. "I can't go back and edit it. I think I've got to start over. But I'm storing up ideas."

Meanwhile, he's graduated from Weber State, and rather than be distracted by graduate school, he's focused in on basketball as his primary emphasis - for now.

Prior to this season, he trained and ate hard, gaining 30 pounds to better enable him to rebound and maneuver in the low post.

"When I saw that [former BYU center] Rafael Araujo was taken with the eighth pick in the [NBA] draft, I knew that that guy had nothing on me but 40 pounds," says Allred. "Having the extra weight has done a world of good for me."

Two weeks ago, the Weber center was averaging 18.5 points and 12.5 boards. He had hung 27 points and 18 rebounds on BYU and 20 points and seven boards on Utah. But, thereafter, he had a falling out with Wildcat coach Joe Cravens, who wanted more defense from his big man. Cravens cut down Allred's minutes, and the two feuded for a time.

Allred's father, Vance, says, as of Monday night, that friction between coach and player had subsided, and they were looking ahead to finishing a difficult season - the Weebs are 8-14 - with a cooperative bang.

"I appreciate Coach Cravens' insistence that Lance become the best player he can be," Vance Allred says. "Hopefully, things can come together over the next five games."

Cravens concurs, complimenting Allred on his hard work and his skills, but concurrently, expecting a more comprehensive "team approach" from his best player on a marginal squad.

Either way, Allred says he plans on pursuing professional basketball in the NBA, if he gets the chance, or in Europe: "I'll happily go wherever is best for me to go."

As for where he's been, and the struggles and the impact he's had here, after five more games, Allred also will happily leave all of that in his rear view.

"The last six years have been a big character builder for me," he says. "I wouldn't trade them. But I wouldn't wish them on anyone, either. I'm looking forward now to moving on."